An army of angry midges were waiting for us to open our tent doors in the morning. Not quite as violent as their Scottish counterparts but clearly the contents of my vascular system in hot demand. Breakfast and morning preparation involved the futile, inefficient act of pacing around in no particular direction so as to avoid the cloud of midges.
We were camped beneath Hægefjell, a broad expanse of granite that consisted of smoother slabs on the right side but more featured, steeper climbing on the left side. Many of the routes on the left side were hard but the obvious weakness drew my eye. The route called
Mot Sola followed a sequence of cracks and corners up the face and screamed out to be climbed. I knew the route was often wet, which made the current dry conditions an excellent time to attempt it.
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| Hægefjell - Mot Sola is just left of centre |
We opted for the Original Start, which climbed two pitches of expansive, smooth slabs in order the reach a main corner system where most people traverse in to start from. We weren't entirely sure of the line up the slabs but found a sequence of shallow grooves that allowed for some spaced protected climbing through largely compact rock. The supposed bolt belay was no where to be seen but a large boulder hidden behind a patch of shrubs was a welcome substitute. Certainly the oldest bolt that I have ever seen presented near the start of the second pitch. The slabs became more rippled, which made for easier climbing. No need for any short linking pitch as described in the Rockfax guide.
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| Anna climbing the second pitch of the Original Start towards the main corner system |
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| Retro bolting (as opposed to retro-bolting) |
The excitement really started once into the corner system on the third pitch. This was anything between n5 and 6- depending on which guidebook we referenced (maybe n5+). Some interesting layback moves above good gear brought me to large ledge with a pair of belay bolts out of reach above my head. I needed to lay-back a crack to the right in order to clip the bolts. I can only assume there was a layer of snow at the belay when bolts were added.
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| Pitch three |
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| 3m high belay bolts |
The climbing continued up another corner, which further improved in quality. Anna led what was maybe the most perfect pitch of the climb, both in terms of aesthetics and quality of climbing. First lay-backing and bridging a lower corner crack before traversing left via a balancy move to a higher crack running parallel. Sustained climbing with plenty of gear and an awkward hanging belay at two thirds the height in the corner. The remainder of the corner continued in the same vein before opening out into undulating ground in the upper half of the pitch.
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| Great climbing on pitch 4 |
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| Anna making the tricky move from the right to left crack |
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| View back to Anna's hanging belay from the fourth pitch |
The subsequent crux pitch had a stiff start... a jamming crack that needed to be gained above a small roof. Maybe gaining it would have been easy were my hand jamming technique half up to scratch (but then finger locks are never going to be my forte). Having failed miserably with my jamming at first attempt I reverted to tried and tested lay-backing off a low block beneath the roof on the right that had indentations on either side for my finger tips. Desperately I threw my legs high to a ledge to the left of the roof and then scrapped to gain the crack above the overhang. Not pretty but I just about effective. Easier, well-protected climbing followed above before cautiously breaking right across a wet slab to the belay.
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Above the difficulties on the crux fifth pitch
(Photo by Anna Kennedy) |
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| Traverse at the top of pitch five |
The next pitch was a surprise to the system. It was supposed to be n5 but involved a bouldery step directly above the belay onto a slab. The only protection being the belay bolts until a rusty peg could clipped a short distance above the difficulties. Mounting the step was relatively easy but pinning the feet to the steep lip of the slab was another matter. Twice Anna slipped off, grazing her shins on the edge of the slab on her second attempt and landing like a plank of wood below my belay. After much pondering and experimentation with alternative lines she concluded there were no better options. Third attempt she managed to cling on enough to move up and clip the peg. I fared no better. Two failed attempts, including matching grazes down my shins on second attempt. The aid of a side pull to my right helped me stay put on the third attempt.
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| Traversing right through seapage on the sixth pitch |
The final pitch also proved to be no push-over with some awkward moves above poor gear followed by some stiff lay-backing up an offwidth crack. Then easier climbing to the top of the route, rounding off what must be one of the best multi-pitch trad rock routes that I have climbed anywhere. The initial two slab pitches were nothing special but what followed was everything that I look for in a climb. A strong line, with sustained, continued interest, in a pristine environment. Even the descent through the forest back to the camp site was very pleasant.
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